Butterflies and Moths (British)Furneaux, William S.
Science
Butterflies and Moths (British)
Furneaux, William S.
Butterflies -- Great Britain; Moths -- Great Britain
A very large black blotch, broken by indefinite patches of the ground
colour, fills up the tip of each fore wing, and extends to the anal
angle, becoming narrower as it approaches this point. A black oval spot
lies just above the middle of this wing.
The hind wings are bordered with black, and a conspicuous spot of deep
yellow lies very near the centre of each.
The antennae are rather short, compared with those of the preceding
members of this family, and are distinguished by their reddish-brown
colour.
The male and female of this species are similarly marked, but the ground
colour of the latter is commonly paler.
This is not by any means a very common butterfly with us, though it is
very plentiful on the other side of the Channel; but it has a way of
taking us by surprise in certain seasons, and then almost neglecting us
for several years together.
Its head quarters are certainly the coasts of Kent and Sussex, but it
has been taken in considerable numbers as far west as Cornwall, and also
to a less extent in some of the midland and northern counties. It is
particularly fond of lucerne and clover fields, especially those that
are situated close to the sea cliffs; and often it may be seen flying
over the beach, sometimes even flitting over the breakers away from land
till at last it disappears in the distance. This maritime tendency of
_Hyale_ makes it probable that a large number of those that are seen on
our south-east coasts have made a passage across the narrow end of the
Channel.
The eggs are laid in spring, by females that have hybernated throughout
the winter, on various leguminous plants, including the lucerne
(_Medicago sativa_), black medick (_M. lupulina_), purple and Dutch
clovers (_Trifolium pratense_ and _T. repens_), and the bird's-foot
trefoil (_Lotus corniculatus_), and on these plants you may search for
the larva, though it can scarcely be said that you are likely to find
it.
The caterpillar is green, with black dots, and a yellowish stripe on
each side. When fully grown it ascends a stem of its food plant and
changes to a green chrysalis with yellow stripes.
_Hyale_ is single-brooded in England, although two broods regularly
appear on the Continent. In our country the perfect insects emerge
during July and August. Many of these die before the approach of winter;
but, as we have already observed, some hybernate and deposit their eggs
in the following spring.
_The Clouded Yellow_ (_Colias Edusa_)
Not only are this and the last species similarly named, but a glance at
the figures will show that they much resemble each other in appearance;
and we shall also learn presently that in their habits and life history
they have much in common.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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